Your political-commentating wag needs to put down the kool-aid, and stop exaggerating about public employees and their pensions.

In the first place, you cannot retire from any City or most public agencies in CA, until you are at least 50 years old. If you had become a public employee at the City of Montclair 25 years ago, you would be eligible for 56% of your highest year’s salary, at the age of 50. Then, you would probably want to name a beneficiary and you would forfeit approximately 15% of that and another 15% to pay your share of medical insurance premiums–and make sure there is no spouse, which will take another 15% for medical insurance.

Fact is, most other municipal entities and the State never offered that formula for miscellaneous employees.

Then, in the second place, that formula no longer exists, in Montclair, either, for new hires, and won’t ever again, in our lifetimes. A new, 25-year employee would get 30% at age 50 and would have to be 60 to get 50%. Most public employees, just like you, never started their jobs with pension facts being a deciding factor, on the choice of career.

I almost went to your movie Thursday because I read wrong before, and thought you were going to show, “A Beautiful Life”–good thing I found out in time, I misunderstood.

Ryan Gosling is the new heart-throb besides being a very good actor. “Crazy, Stupid Love” is very good. You should have a lot of female attendees at that one. I would “almost” see it again, just for the family/neighbor brawl–hilarious!

[It shouldn't surprise you to learn that a female library employee is the one who programmed the Gosling movies, no doubt for their heart-throb factor. As for pensions, naturally my friend was exaggerating, and you're right when it comes to the general workforce. But anyone who attends council meetings has seen public safety employees honored upon their retirements in their early or mid-50s, at almost full pay. -- DA]